Monthly Archives: January 2014

Thanks to Daph’s excellent suggestion that we take some time to hash over Steele’s feelings toward Laura. When did he decide she was “the one” for him – more than just a challenge to his libido? Share your thoughts!

Hey! Simon Courtney is a real person, with a Pinterest board. He likes motorcycles. And cars. And something called “Butchered and Burnt.” Perhaps I don’t need to know any more about Simon.

So much hotness in one place. Be still my heart!

Mr. Seward tells “Simon” that the groom is behind the trellis in the backyard.

Ah, Mr. Steele. Even as a dork you cut a dashing figure.

Mr. Seward is so OVER this wedding.

We see the best man glad-handing the guests (and addressing some of them by name?). Blond gal doesn’t seem to mind the glasses and overbite.

We see Sheldon looking … dapper? So if this is his hair after dyeing it, what color was it before?

Hm. You may have made the right choice, Shelly.

Simon Steele confronts the groom. “Naughty! Naughty!” He’s spent a day and a night trying to keep Sheldon alive, and he sneaks away without telling him?

Steele’s glasses are far down on his nose in the universal sign for stern disapproval:

You are in so much trouble, young man!

“What are you doing here?” Sheldon asks.

“I am your best man, Simon Courtney!”

“What are they doing here?” Sheldon wants to know now.

Without turning to see who it is, Mr. Steele nevertheless identifies: “This is Mr. Price, from the CIA, which is not trying to kill you.” (Surely Sheldon would recognize his own boss.) “And of course you know Laura.”

Oh, my God! Laura is a vampire, too!

Suddenly I’m a little worried about that nerdy guy who drove Laura home from the supermarket. WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?

Laura asks Steele if he’s seen her yet. Steele says no, but he hasn’t checked the house yet.

“Seen who?” Sheldon asks as Laura and Price skedaddle.

“Sheldon,” Steele asks, in stern grandpa mode again. “Did a blonde woman take a shot at you yesterday?”

Aw. Sheldon feels bad for holding out on Steele.

Steele is truly pained by Sheldon’s lack of faith! He tells him the blonde, who isn’t CIA, is going to try to kill him again. That’s why he can’t allow Sheldon to appear for his wedding.

Uh, oh. Someone forgot to tell the organist. The wedding march commences!

I’ll stop at this dramatic moment! What do you think about Steele’s disguise? Laura’s hat? Bridezilla’s dress? Was Sheldon brave or foolish to slip away from the detectives to go to his wedding? And with their client apparently no longer interested in their help, why did Steele and Laura choose to continue protecting him? So many questions!

Wikipedia has bios on a number of Charles Webbs, including a novelist, an architect, a cricketer, two footballers, two poets, a couple of politicians, a baseball player and a journalist. Pretty sure our guy isn’t any of these.

Price wants to know if Webb is dead; Laura confirms. How about Shelly? Laura tells him Sheldon is safe, hiding in the stairway. Now it’s Mr. Price’s turn to be indignant.

“Look: I don’t know where you people get your information, but get it straight. No one here is trying to kill Sheldon.” He informs them that they’ve been following Shelly to try to figure out what’s going on. They’ve had two agents blown up. Know how that looks? Price will tell you how that looks!

“It looks ROTTEN. It looks like little Sheldon had something going – a covert operation even the Operations Director didn’t know about.” People are dying, and Price wants to know why!

Here we see the “passionate” side of Steele again. Normally so controlled (as in the office scene previously), he can be moved to violence at times – usually when he feels someone is being wronged or denigrated. It’s interesting that Laura makes no move to try to calm him or get him to let go of Price. Would she have let Steele beat the hell out of Price if he hadn’t convinced them he wasn’t the bad guy?

Our heroes discover that their client has been keeping secrets; why didn’t he mention the blonde who shot at him? We learn the CIA has nothing to do with Sheldon’s problems … but that at least one of the baddies has infiltrated the home of Sheldon’s future father-in-law. Hm.

… in the lobby of some government building, where the top secret organizations’ branch offices are neatly enumerated. Steele seems surprised, but Laura tells him he shouldn’t be:

“They’re listed in the phone book; why shouldn’t they have a sign in the lobby?” (I actually did a bit of Googling to try to find the LA branch office of the CIA, but kept ending up on the CIA website and decided my blog wasn’t worth attracting the attention of this government agency.)

Steele and Laura proceed to the elevator. Steele has a bit of unfinished business to discuss.

“Tell me about this fella you lived with.”

Oh, I think Laura is enjoying this side of Steele.

He seems mildly amused himself!

They exit the elevator onto the third floor, where a random cleaning woman is somewhat overdressed for her job. (What’s the point of this cleaning lady, BTW?)

They arrive at the glass-enclosed offices of Eugene Price, Operations Director. (I guess this is what they mean by “transparency” in government operations.) A male voice calls to them, inviting them into the office. They enter through the door, which is standing ajar. High security at this security organization!

They are greeted by a very tan, casually dressed guy with a large golfing trophy on his desk. (What is it with trophies on this show? Must be an in-joke.)

He seems glad to see his old pal Steele!

“How long has it been?” he queries, then answers himself: “Danang! The rainy season!”

Danang is a port city in South Vietnam. Its rainy seasons is September-March. Well, that’s not really much of a FUN fact. But it’s a fact. Price seems to be insinuating that he and Steele were covert operatives during the Vietnam War.

“Good to see you, too,” Steele says. (Love the look on Laura’s face here: What planet are we on?)

“Sit! Sit!” invites Smarmy CIA Guy. “You and … uh….”

“Laura.”

“So this is Laura!” Price says, as if he’s heard all about her. “Your … secretary?”

“Assistant,” says Steele.

“Associate,” says Laura.

“Whatever,” says Price. He invites them again to sit down. They don’t.

“I’ve been reading about you,” Smarmy CIA Guy says, beginning to pace. “Scoring all those big bucks in the private sector.”

“It’s an adequate living,” Steele concedes coolly. He is not pacing.

“Remington,” he says, calling him by his first name because they’re such good, long-standing friends. “Don’t bull a bull artist.” So THAT’S the key to getting ahead in the CIA? Mr. Steele could have a brilliant career here.

“Is he paying you enough?” Price suddenly asks Laura, randomly.

“Because if he gives you any trouble, you tell me,” Price continues. “I’ll have him audited.” They all enjoy a little chuckle at this implied threat.

Laura might do well to ponder the implications of Mr. Steele being audited.

“So,” Laura prompts, moving closer to her well-paying boss.

Price wants to know what brings Steele to his office on a Saturday.

“Nothing in particular,” Steele hedges. “Just thinking about the good, old days. Danang, the rainy season …”

It was 9:00 am when they were at the gas station. What have they been doing for the past four hours?

Suddenly, Price has to leave. He promised to take his kid go-kart racing. “Nice seeing you again, Steele. Nice meeting you, too, Laurie!”

“Laura,” she corrects him.

“Whatever.”

He shows them to the door.

“Well … uh …” Price says.

“Well … uh …” Laura says.

Well … uh … that was a productive use of their time!

More body language! We see Mr. Steele’s familiar nose touching, which has already been discussed. But here we see one of Laura’s more common gestures: running her hand through her hair. This can mean either flirtation or – far more likely here – vexation. Interestingly, she also did it on their way in to the office, just after their banter in the elevator:

Pretty sure it fits the first category in this case!

The detectives head back to the elevator. Steele has thrown his coat over his shoulder and is making a kind of guiding gesture toward Laura. Not sure what the body language experts would say about this, but to me it feels protective.

Back on the elevator, they’re trying to work out what just happened. “Who’s kidding who?” Steele wonders.

The elevator deposits them in what seems to be an underground parking garage.

Laura gives a little thump on a door …

… and Sheldon emerges from hiding. Steele is putting on his overcoat. What, Laura and Sheldon don’t get cold?

Nobody’s going to be driving that car again soon. (But at least the toolbox seems to be okay!)

As the scene fades to black, we see Laura and Sheldon shell-shocked.

This is another one of those “turn on a dime” scenes. We begin in a light-hearted vein and some flirtatious banter between Laura and Mr. Steele. Then there is the surreal semi-comedy of the office scene – and the scene concludes in a shocking fashion.

The initial elevator scene, with Steele oh-so-subtly trying to draw Laura out about her former live-in, is cute. Laura likes having a secret from Mr. Steele for a change. He’s not the only one with a mysterious past!

The dynamic between Steele and Laura is interesting during the office scene. Both Steele and Laura are clearly puzzled by what’s going on, but Steele is much better at hiding his confusion. He is in his element here, dueling with Price in this subtle battle of intimidation. I think Laura might not have been fully cognizant of the game Steele was playing – she nudges him to get to the point of their visit, but Steele knows what he’s doing. He plays it very cool, and Price is clearly unnerved.

I’m interested in others’ perspective on the final frames of the scene: Steele getting to his feet to look at the aftermath of the explosion, while Laura and Sheldon stay in hiding. The image of Steele standing there creates a heroic, alpha male feeling. Is this the first instance of what I call the “Bondification” of Steele?

Steele is ESPECIALLY not going to “sit in that car doing nothing while Sheldon looks at me like I’m Babe Ruth and George Washington all rolled into …”

As Steele asks the operator for the number of the Central Intelligence Agency (“No, that’s not a residence!”), Laura looks on with, I think, amused affection. She likes this Steele who is worried about a “nice, little nebbish.”

Laura returns to the car, where she finds Sheldon feeling sorry for himself. It’s 9 am – in another seven hours, Lucille was supposed to become Mrs. Sheldon Quarry.

“Seven hours is a long time,” Laura reassures him. Besides, Mr. Steele is on the case – talking to the CIA at this very moment!

Sheldon goes all fanboy squee again. “Boy, would I love to see their faces when they pick up the phone and hear, ‘This is Remington Steele.'”

So would Laura!

Sheldon is confident that Steele can fix everything. The great detective is even more amazing than Sheldon’s future father-in-law. He’s into selling foreign-language editions of American literary classics to China.

China’s “Open Door” policy toward western trade began in 1978, under the government of Deng Xiaoping.

Laura is amused at the thought of people discussing Rhett Butler in China. Funny! (Funny?)

Steele returns to the car. Good news! “They can’t wait to see me again. It will be just like old times.”

Hm. Something tells me Laura’s not so sure about that!

This scene gives us a glimpse into Mr. Steele’s marshmallow heart. After the awkwardness of the previous scene, I think Laura is touched to have reassurance that this man she’s losing her own heart to isn’t cold-blooded. We’ve seen before that Mr. Steele tends to champion the underdog (to unfortunate results, in their last case). I think this one might work out better.

And we see that Steele, too, is alone with his thoughts … whatever they may be.

This is my favorite scene of this episode; it’s so rich and multi-layered. We begin in a warm and even humorous mood. Steele and Laura are together in a pseudo-intimate setting. And they are clearly comfortable and glad to be together. Laura appreciates Steele’s suggestive humor and tacit acknowledgement that their relationship goes beyond the strictly professional. Then the scene turns, as Laura confesses her deep fears. We rarely see Laura this open and vulnerable. Steele is shaken by her words – because he’s afraid she’s too serious, or afraid he might indeed leave her alone, in too deep. Perhaps Steele has his own fears about getting close to someone, and the possibility of being left behind, in too deep. There is such deep poignancy in Laura’s reaction to his desertion. She knows she has over-shared, shown Mr. Steele her “weakness,” and – as expected – he left her.

He’s talking about a T-shirt that says “Bankers Do It With Interest” Yuck!

Laura can’t believe it.

She’s been chased through the canyons by Mario Andretti …

… had to fight off the Galloping Gourmet to get a ride home …

The Galloping Gourmet is celebrity chef Graham Kerr, who had a TV show of that name from 1969-1971. He was famous for drinking wine while cooking on the show, often appearing to be a bit tipsy by the time the credits rolled.

Steele can’t believe Laura didn’t tell him she lives with a man! She tersely informs him that she doesn’t live with a man.

She tells him their only chance is to keep going. They’ll rent a car. (Where’s the limo?) Steele wants to know where Laura’s car is. She tells him it’s at the supermarket. Mr. Steele isn’t finished with her yet!

“You lived with a man who wears white belts?”

“Am I disappointed,” he sniffs.

Hey … don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it, Mr. Steele. Smokin’!

Laura seems mildly amused by Steele’s reaction.

The main interest in this scene is obviously Steele’s fixation on Laura’s love life. He seems surprised that she had lived with a man (does he think she’s “not that kind of girl”?) and channels his jealousy into childish taunting, disparaging the kind of man his left-behind belongings suggest. Steele seems uninterested – even oblivious – to the real danger Laura was in.

Laura is well-prepared for an emergency, efficiently moving to pack some food, flashlight and, inexplicably, what look like highway flares (or sticks of dynamite).

We also see Laura and Steele in kind of a parenting mode here (especially Laura, who seems very intent on taking care of Sheldon). What’s your take on this segment?

Hey! This place is a veritable smorgasbord of irresistible manhood! And speaking of manhood, those jeans might be just a little too snug, dude. Nice headband, though. (I don’t even want to know what he’s going to do with those Wet Wipes.)

Things are looking up! Laura crashes into a guy in a suit jacket (Also, JiffyPop is on sale!).

“Excuse me,” she tells the man she assaulted with her cart. Time to ditch this popstand!

Laura makes a run for the exit …

She’s got no time to go through a cashier line. Up and over!

Yikes! Guy in fedora and long coat loitering around her car. What’s his deal?

Better hang out in the store a bit longer, Laura.

Laura gets in line behind a relatively normal-looking guy.

Well … relatively normal looking.

Flirty Laura notes the contents of his basket: Steak, wine, hearts of palm. Obviously he appreciates the finer things!

“Of course, what’s the point of buying it if you have no one to share it with?” Smooth, Laura.

Uh … what I said before about normal?

I take it back.

Still, Laura seems pleased with her conquest!

In this scene, we get to see how Laura deals with a dangerous situation. She is clearly alarmed, almost panicky, but she is able to implement strategies to try to get herself out of trouble. This scene highlights the fact that Laura, for all her skills, is at greater risk because she’s a woman. This scenario – alone at night, being pursued by somebody – is a fear every woman has drummed into them from an early age.

She’s got to be wondering at this point whether Mr. Steele was right to suggest giving this case a pass. What’s your reaction to how Laura handles herself here?

… hip to be square! (At least according to Huey Lewis). And look what kind of babe he snagged!

Yeah, a gal like that would TOTALLY end up with a guy named Huey. Right?

Oh.

Steele concedes that being him has its moments. Sheldon is nonplused at his ambivalence.

“Are you kidding? I’ve wanted to be you my whole life!”

“Relax, Sheldon. Remember – you’re only wearing a towel.”

(That’s a suggestive quip for primetime!)

Sheldon has a seat. He begins to reminisce …

“All through school you dream of being a hero. Everybody laughs at you …”

Steele seems very attentive to Sheldon’s confessional.

“You keep telling yourself: Just wait ’til you grow up. They’ll be throwing ticker tape at your parade.” But when you finally grow up, there’s no ticker tape, Sheldon continues, and you realize you’re just not cut out of that particular bolt of cloth.

“So you find yourself a nice girl …” (Note to Sheldon: Keep looking.)

“On Sundays you look at sensible cars together.”

Steele’s expression is inscrutable: What do you think he’s thinking here?

As Sheldon continues waxing poetic about getting married and joining the family business, Steele’s demeanor changes slightly …

He looks away from Sheldon, who is laying himself bare emotionally as he is physically undressed. Uncomfortable for Steele? Sheldon interprets his expression as boredom.

“You wouldn’t understand about that,” Sheldon says. “That’s what happens to the rest of us.” Seemingly embarrassed by his candor, Sheldon excuses himself and leaves the room.

Steele remains impassive as Sheldon departs.

… then touches his nose briefly as he appears to come to some decision.

As has been noted before in this blog, body language experts say that nose touching indicates discomfort with being deceitful. Pierce Brosnan does this with some frequency; do you think he’s aware of this psychology, or is it a natural response?

Steele follows Sheldon and stands outside the door. He seems torn.

“Sheldon, it occurs to me you have that backwards. I mean, I know you think I lead an exciting life … and yes, I suppose I do.”

“But don’t you think it’s rather like the tree falling in the forest? If there’s no one there to hear it, it doesn’t make much of a noise, does it?”

“An exciting life … without someone to share it with?”

“What I’m trying to say is, any time you’d like, I’ll trade places with you. What do you say?”

There is no response from within.

Steele takes a peek inside …

… and finds Sheldon already asleep in Laura’s bed.

“If I’m nice enough to say all of this sugary slop, the least you could do is stay awake.”

Well! That was a meaty scene, wasn’t it? (And I don’t mean Sheldon’s brawny chest.) Steele seems very affected by Sheldon’s slightly pathetic summation of his life – and uncomfortable, suddenly, with Sheldon’s hero worship of him. I think Sheldon’s admiration reminds Steele that he really is a fraud and he feels guilty being the object of the nerdy little guy’s adulation. It’s hard to know how sincere Steele’s soliliquoy is – perhaps he was indeed just saying all that “sugary slop” to make Sheldon feel better. But I’m inclined to think there was true in his words. Listening to Sheldon describing his ordinary life – what happens to “the rest of us” – reminds Steele of how separate and disconnected he has been from a real life. Perhaps a nice girl, a sensible car and a career don’t sound so bad to a man who has never had anything like those things. I think this speaks to what we were discussing in a previous post, about Steele’s determination to find a date for the evening. He is a man who doesn’t like to be alone … perhaps because he has been that way so much of his life. What’s your take on this segment?

A new scene begins with a zooty little car pulling up to a snooty mansion.

Is this the first glimpse we’ve had of Laura’s Rabbit? She seems to have a thing for rabbits.

The Volkswagon Rabbit was introduced in 1975 and remained in production until 1984. Laura drives a 1981 model convertible, California license 1ELI525. Happy news! You can purchase a red version of Laura’s car on eBay for just $7,900, if you hurry.

Laura walks up to an ornate front door and rings the bell. A male voice asks what she wants. She tells him she’s here to see Lucille Steward. He wants to know who is looking for Lucille Seward.

“My name is Laura Holt. I’m a friend of Sheldon Quarry’s.”

Well! That produces results!

“Come in!” he welcomes her. Laura seems very impressed with her surroundings. I wonder if she hasn’t spent much time with the super-rich. I suspect that may change, Laura. (Can I just say, I love Laura’s outfit in this scene?)

Once Laura is inside, the man’s demeanor becomes less friendly. “Where is he?” he demands.

A still slightly dazed Laura responds, “Pardon me?”

“You’re pardoned. It’s Sheldon that’s going to get the chair!” the man vows. Does Laura know how many times he’s had to reschedule the wedding rehearsal? Hasn’t Sheldon ever heard of a phone?!

Laura would love to fill him in! But he’s got no time to listen to excuses.

For four days, they’ve been worried sick! He’s got a daughter who’s hysterical!

He’s got 90 lbs. of roast beef in the freezer!

He’s got 30 lbs. of shrimp – no, PRAWNS (they get you for $1.00 more a pound if they call them prawns) – makes it sound like they all went to college!

“Uh huh … heh heh heh.”

He’s got ice sculptures!

Suddenly, someone new appears:

“Forgive him, he’s an ass,” she says. Her father begins to object to her tone …

“Daddy!” she screeches. Seems like a close-knit family.

Lucille wants to know if Sheldon is really all right. Where is he? Sadly, Laura can’t tell her that. But she assures the happy Sewards that errant Sheldon is fine.

She doesn’t take his advice well. “Isn’t he a wonderful father? He likes us best when we’re sedated!”

Aw. Lucille is a sweet little thing, isn’t she? I’m sure she and Sheldon will be very happy together. AS LONG AS HE STAYS IN LINE.

Lucille wants to know everything Laura knows. She admits there’s not much to tell.

The scene ends on Laura’s anxious look back at the unhappy father-in-law-to-be.

This was a short scene, but there are some interesting elements, I think. First of all, Laura seems astonished at the opulence of the Steward mansion. As I noted above, it appears she doesn’t have much experience interacting in these circles of society. We also see that she’s not comfortable with Mr. Seward’s overbearing manner; one suspects the glib Mr. Steele would have handled this exchange more smoothly. Laura also seems taken aback at the open hostility between Lucille and her father; we don’t yet know anything about Laura’s relationship with her own parents, but might one surmise that her bond with her own Daddy is different from what she sees here? Although Laura is a strong person, able to stand up for herself, I get the feeling that conflict makes her uncomfortable. What do you think?